1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toy drawing device.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,489 issued to Rudell et al. discloses a toy drawing device. The Rudell device includes a pair of stacked plates that are attached to a housing. The stacked plates can be illuminated with light traveling by internal reflection through the plates. The housing includes a light source and a blind that can be rotated to block light from entering the edge of one of the plates, so that the other plate is illuminated.
The user can draw one image on one plate and another image on the other plate. One of the plates can be illuminated to view the corresponding image. The blind can be rotated back and forth to alternate illumination of the plates and viewing of the images. Rotating the blind to illuminate one of the plates requires either manual or motorized movement of the blind. Manual movement necessitates a certain amount of skill to align the blind with an edge of a plate. This problem can be alleviated by motorized movement, but motors tend to become inoperable over time. Additionally, motors limit the life of batteries used to power the system.
The light source described in the Rudell patent is a fluorescent bulb, or an incandescent bulb, located within the housing. To properly view the illuminated images of one plate, the unit has to be operated in a dark room. The requirement for a dark room limits the usefulness of the toy. It would be desirable to provide a toy drawing unit that does not require moving parts or a dark room.
Furthermore, the employment of the moving blind to alternately direct the light source onto one of the multiple plates required that the light source itself be distanced from the edge of the plates, further diminishing luminosity.